ASB 4002 Human Resource Management

Individual Portfolio

Shahbaz Ansari

MBA Management Bangor Business School Bangor University 5th of November 2009

Q1: Select a country and briefly examine the existence of the people management Profession. INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC People Management Profession became a significant part of the Indian business world in India since the beginning of liberalization era in 1990 and later by globalization in 1994 and during that period only India has got it thrust towards profession of Human Resource Management as a distinctive area and as a country it has most of the diversity in it to be called as multi cultural work force because there are various culture prevailing in India where multi cultural teams work in a group to develop HRM in Strategic Human Resource Management. In India Personal management is constantly evolving and changing from its Traditional method to more Contemporary and sophisticated one which in turn has grown into more Competitive and pivotal to the success of the Firms Internationally. Predominantly India is having Patriarchal society where Male has every right to do anything but as the India is moving ahead in every sense from social to cultural aspect and a progressive legislation in India which is leading to an end to sex based discrimination as in a contemporary World Womens are well educated and serving the Multi National Corporations from the top such as Indira Nooyi Pepsico India and ICICI..

Drivers of Contemporary Indian HRM Trends

Chatterjee, S. R. (2007). Human Resource Management in India: Where From and Where To?, Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 15(2), 92-103.

Workforce in India is a thriving power in building the nation through Multinational Companies or Corporations and helping India to develop its economy at a pace never before because of its multi-talented pool of workers in the field of Information Technology, Research and Development, Engineers, Doctors and in Aeronautics as well in the recent time. India has acquired a strong position in the world of powerful economies today through various continuous efforts in merger and acquisitions to spread their wings globally more successfully. As the days are passing by Indian corporation are becoming more Strategic towards people management profession and taking it more seriously in terms of consistent growth and developing the economy at a faster pace and this is possible through collaborations with the Companies located in a diverse geographical area.

Now, Indian companies are not only focusing on catering the Product but they are also offering various services which are need of an hour and this in turn is reflected in a greater value to the Human Resource because Service Industry not only comprises of Pure Services but there are Various goods which are accompanied by services which leads to a competitive advantage in various fields and some of them are Biotechnology, Software Services and Pharmaceuticals. India has become a Hub of Outsourcing of various services like Business Process Outsourcing (B.P.Os), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (K.P.Os), and Legal Process Outsourcing (L.P.Os) and in a service Industry like this where the job is of monotonous and tedious type, it is very difficult to retain its employees for a longer period of time which has made the job of People Management Profession even more difficult where they have to be very innovative and creative in developing schemes and maintain the gap between supply and demand of employees because employee retention in these areas is very difficult and intricate.

Q2: Find a newspaper article focusing on HR published in the last month and comment on its content.

ITs not all that hot for fresh recruits

Supply Glut, Lower Demand For Services Bring Salaries Down 20%
Peerzada Abrar & Debjoy Sengupta BANGALORE| KOLKATA INTRODUCTION OF THE NEWS PAPER ARTICLE

I have chosen a newspaper article entitled as ITs not all that hot for fresh recruits from Times Of India which a leading newspaper in India by accessing it Online as an e-paper on 3rd November 2009 at this hyperlink:
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp? From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=ETNEW&BaseHref=ETM/2009/11/03&PageLabel=1&E ntityId=Ar00101&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

Its main focus is on the New talent in the field of computer science which has been in a demand for so many years in India as the Information Technology sector in India is booming at a very fast pace but due to badly hit economies by recession such as United States of America, United Kingdom etc., has cause a slowdown in the Indian economy as well and because of this the outsourcing of software Industry has also hit hard and this is causing problem for the graduates of computer science from the top colleges to enter in to corporate world as a beginner also. OUTSORCING is a powerful tool for an organization to release some of its business functions which is not a core business process to an outside firm for a small period of time to the stretched contractual period to achieve competitive advantage by reducing several costs and this can be seen in most of the Information Technology sector and in Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs). The outsourcing of software industry in India was very high as Indian software engineers are very talented and expert in this field but at the time of recession in major economies Indian economy has been also hit badly and the GDP has gone down from a close 10% to nearly 6.5% in a years time. The main thrust of this article is on the recruitment of young graduates and their payroll which has gone down due to various reasons that are provided below with its critical analysis.

The Economic Recession has lead towards a downsizing of market because majority of peoples have lost their confidence in the market in current global situation and companies can do one thing in my opinion to not lay off their employees in a huge

number and they should bear some of the brunt to restore the customers confidence in their company. There is an oversupply of qualified and well trained professionals because some of them had been laid off during current crisis and there is a new whole lot of graduates who are churned out this year as well but over them the experienced professional are preferred as compared to young graduates because experience professionals need not to be trained and can be hired at minimum salary package as to a graduate which will certainly help the companies to curtail their expenses and expand their business in these tough time also but Indian companies have not been exposed so much that they are not hiring graduates but there is a significant down fall in the salaries which varies from 10% to 20% but it is good in my opinion to cut down the salaries in tough times like this but not to take jobs of individual by which the implications will be rooted and far more devastating.

The companies should not be divulge in financial cost only but in the time like this it should be able to maintain the value and reputation of its company by perceiving to the customer to what they want to look in a company.

Conclusion It has helped the industries in containing the salaries of their employees and by concentrating more on performance, the companies will tend to survive in the cut throat environment in the business sphere and most importantly it will help the companies to come over one of the biggest Financial Crisis. The gap between the supply and demand of professionals has been enlarged because of current situation in the global market and this should be contained for sustainable development of Indian Economy.

Q3: To what extent managers should be involved in Recruitment and selection and HRP Processes?

Recruitment:

http://www.connect-hr.com/cms/thesite/public/uploads/uploadsbank/1208769212_778.gif It is a very delicate situation where the organization wants to hire the applicants for its present requirements as well as for its future need to accomplish the organizational goals and objectives. In my view the managers should be fully concerned with the recruitment process because in todays business environment this function has turned out to be a more strategic in planning and here is a point where manager should be involved as recruitment is no longer a process of measuring vacancy needs and filling for a short period of time but to translate the corporate strategies of hiring the professionals for a longer period of time and this can be achieved by employing the individuals with a combination of knowledge, experience, skills, belief, attitude, lifestyle and behavior so they best fit in the organizations and in turn they are fully capable and have the caliber to achieve the organizations vision in a future course. The vacancies should be fully agreed by a responsible manager because at the end of the manager is the one under which the recruited applicants will work so it is of utmost importance that the manager whose work is to get things done by others has the individuals with whom he can work for the betterment and ultimately the success of the organization in the long run.

Selection:

In selection the organization chooses the individuals from a whole lot of applicants who have applied for the job and the individuals are selected on the basis of various assessment criteria like age, qualification, skills, experience, communication power and the confidence to meet the current business scenario which is highly competitive in nature. The selection criteria for most of the organizations defer from each other but in highly competitive managerial jobs, the Manager can play a role of an interviewer at a later stage of interview after the HR Manager takes the interview because the manager should know the individual with whom he is going to work.

HRP Process
Its a corporate plan for estimating the present and future demand of the manpower in an organization which is a right number of qualified professionals at a right time to meet the organizations objectives. The managers should be involved actively in HRP process as they should be able to assess the entire external environment with delicacy to identify the various affects of social, economical, legal and ethical influences and try to lessen the impact of it.

After further analyzing the HRP, I have found that at the end of analysis of supply and demand, the major factor which is of much importance is the quality of the employees and the manager should be highly involved that their employees are completely motivated, their morale is boosted, their career prospects are sky rocketing and they are well trained.

Q4: To what extent managers should be involved in Human Resource Development.

Human Resource Development is a broader concept where it is assumed that the investment made in human beings today will invariably bring various benefits to the organization in a long run and subsequently to the society at a large.

http://rass-india.org/sublinks/images/Human%20Resource%20Development.gif The managers should be fully involved in H.R.D process as the main thrust of it is on acquiring the competencies i.e. the employees should discharge their duties effectively and to perform all their functions that are required by an organization so as to develop the constructive atmosphere.

The managers should be involved in clearing the paths and providing them a congenial climate on work as it help the employees to realize their potential in full and by motivating them morally by different methods the commitment of the employee can be increased drastically. Managers by involving in H.R.D may prove vital in improving the creativity and problem solving skills of an employee and can empower the employees in all respects to develop the individual employee, the organization as a whole and its culture with developing society at a large especially. Its help in creating autonomous work group and there can be quality circles as well which helps in fostering the innovation and creativity of individual employees which in turn help in boosting the trust among the employees and with manager also. HRD helps in finding the employees and utilize his capabilities in service of organizational goals and it finds a new meaning in work, when managers support such initiatives through incentive plans and challenging assignments. Thus it helps in gelling of the employees by developing relationship which are more trustful, have confidence and are ready to help their colleague at the time of need. To endure and grow in a cutthroat environment like this the Manager should inspire their employees to get ready for all kinds of future challenges that they may face and for this there should be a stress on continual training and education for employees to tackle any future contingencies that may arise from nowhere. The conclusion is that that Managers should be able to motivate the employees to fully exploit their potential which will help in building the trust and to this will lead to explore their creativity and innovation and this can be done by creating quality circles formed by Managers and various community of Practice which are formed on their own and at the end providing them better working conditions to create awareness among the employees and this will surely reflect in the organizations performance.

Q5: To what extent managers should be involved in Managing and rewarding performance. The manager should be able to fully demonstrate the quality of leader while evaluation of the individuals performance and each employee should be treated uniformly and there should be a voice of every individual in an organization to allow them to develop their intellectual and there innovation comes out in their performance by which whole attitude of the organizations changes in a optimistic fashion and then the performance targets set by Managers can be fully achieved by the employees and that too are of much significant to the organization as a whole in achieving their goals and objectives. Manager can be involved in inspiring the employees that the organizations goal is their objective and they have to work hard with determination and enthusiasm to reach the outcome set by the organization.

http://www.performancebarometer.co.uk/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/Performan ceCultureModel-Version2.jpg.w560h558.jpg The Manager has to take full authority and complete initiative in various conflicts that can arise and prove harmful to the organization just for a desire of an employee to excel more than their colleagues in the performance for rewards.

In my opinion Managers are better facilitator for an employees performance and can evaluate the performance much effectively as they are involved with employees in more effective way than HR specialist because they do work under the supervision of Manager only. In all the above mentioned processes one thing is of utmost importance that every employee should be treated equally and there must be no discrimination while evaluating individual employee performance. The manager can play effective role in formulating strategies of reward system and the rewards should be totally linked with the performance of an individual and nothing else but he can do one thing that is to praise the individual of their wholehearted effort even if they fail so that they are more filled with a self force to do anything for the organizations welfare. He is the one who can notice the effort of the employees and recommend some informal rewards for some specific contribution to the organization or on accomplishments of goals of the company.

Q6: To what extent managers should be involved in managing the employment Relationship. Commitment to the organization is one of the most crucial factor by which company can increase its productivity and efficiency and for this manager should be involved in all areas related to employee engagement where every employee should be concerned in a fair and consistent manner in a companys plans to do business in future and they should be aware of any changes in the management policies and procedures where they are fully free to communicate their managers if they have any grievances and if the discipline is needed on the front of employees they should fully solve it by well communication and proper understanding of the issue. The manager should be involved in such a way that there is no conflict which goes out of proportion and become serious that can lead to inefficiency and tarnish the Brand Image of the company. The Manager is the backbone of employee relationship and engagement where he should be able to demonstrate this policy and discipline the employees about their philosophy and this can be achieved by mutual cooperation and interdependence between the management and the employees where they should be free to air their problems and they should be properly reviewed by the management also.

http://www.kiwipumps.com/images/human-resource-development.gif There should be proper collaboration among them and manager is one under which employees are working and to exploit their potential fully, he can play a role of motivator by which the employees participation will go upbeat and have a wonder in the accomplishment of the organizations vision. The managers can be very handy in creating a congenial atmosphere in the organization that every employee has a sense that this organization belongs to them and they are not working for some company but for their own company itself which will help the company in utilization of their resources fully with high performance and satisfaction to the employee as well and manager can motivate their employees by appraising the employees performance and reward them with bonus, promotion or appreciation of a certain employee in front of all employees and top management also. For Example: HDFC Bank has been ranked number one bank in India for Employee relationship and Customer Relationship and now it stands at a number two in the rankings of the Private Banks in India after ICICI Bank, it has developed a brand image and the perception of the customer is positive towards this Bank. At the end I would like to say that appraising the performance and rewarding the employees work, to motivate and other things as well and all this has to done by Manager so the employee relationship can be best handled by him only.

Week 1

Human Resource Management and its Organisational Context Introduction to course and assessment, overview of human resource management, the business context, the role of managers and HR specialists

Please read: Chapters 1 and 3 (Beardwell & Claydon 2007) or similar chapters in other texts Q1. Consider the terms personnel and human resource management. Which term is used (most) in your organisation/country? Which term do you think best describes the activities associated with employment management/the management of people? Why is this? Ans: In my country India which is one of the most diversified country in the world uses Human Resource Management term the most but personnel management is also being used in some of the organization because people management is much more strategic driven now and there are continual changes in the context of HRM profession. Both of these worlds are used interchangeably in the present scenario related to job description but in my opinion Personnel management is best suited in the current and future era because it deals mostly with an individual who cannot be exploited by companies counterfeit rule policies etc and by concentrating on individual employees of their needs and motivate them to the extent that they form a group that eventually leads to the organizations success.

Q2. From your own work experience, or from your reading, to what extent should people management be performed by HR specialists or line managers? Why do you think this? What are the implications of people management activities being performed by two professional bodies (HR & line managers) within an organisation?

Ans: As HR specialist are expert in their field so they are best in handling out the job section for the organization but by effective commitment by HR specialist as well as Line Manager in the involvement, the best can be achieved for the organizations success in the business environment. The conflict can arise while the management of people done by both HR specialists and Line Managers but in my view there is a huge potential where both of these can share their duties and responsibilities regarding people management that much effectively that it can raise standards of the work done in an organization.

Q3. HRM operates within the immediate local/organisational context and the wider/global context. What influences how HR operates? Think of external/environmental factors, internal/organisational factors and individual/personal factors.

Week 2

Theories and models of HRM and Practising HRM From personnel to HRM, strategic human resource management The four key functions: resourcing the organisation, developing the individual, the employment relationship, and managing and rewarding performance.

Please read: Chapters 1 and 2 (Beardwell & Claydon 2007) or similar chapters in other texts Q1. How helpful are the various models of HRM? What are the similarities and differences between the models? Do they reflect HR in other countries, such as Africa, India and China?

Q2. How might HR strategy be formulated? How should/could HR contribute to corporate strategy formulation? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a dual HR strategy? And for whom? Think of the various different types of human resources!

Q3. What are the relationships between the four key areas of HR? Is it helpful to think of HR as four key areas/components? What other people management activities might be included within the functions of an HR department?

Week 3

Resourcing the organisation Human resource planning (HRP), Recruitment and Selection

Please read: Chapters 4, 5 and 6 (Beardwell & Claydon 2007) or similar chapters in other texts Q1. What factors are affecting the current labour market whether local, national and/or global? How do these affect employment for women, graduates, older workers?

Q2. SME Case study: Books4U Please complete the activities associated with this case study, located on Blackboard under Resources.

i) ii) iii)

Given the current business situation, assess the need for succession planning and management development of your Team Leaders Construct an HR plan for the next 3 years Identify the HR implications of recruiting more staff

Q3. Recruitment and selection How do you identify and recruit talent? What are advantages and disadvantages of recruiting from the internal and external labour markets? Produce an up-to-date personal CV that you could send to a prospective employer. Q4. Equal opportunities and diversity Whose responsibility is it to ensure fair employment practices? Is it acceptable for managers to discriminate against certain employees? Have you have ever been discriminated against in the workplace? How did you feel? How was it resolved?

Week 4

Developing the individual and organisation From training and development to HRD, strategic human resource development, management development, organisation development, organisational learning

Please read: Chapters 8 and 10 (Beardwell & Claydon 2007) or similar chapters in other texts Q1. To what extent does the shift from T&D to HRD parallel the move from personnel to HRM? How important (strategic) is learning and development for an organisation? What are the differences between learning, training, education and development? Whose responsibility is it to improve skills the individual, the organisation, the government/state?

Q2. Employee development What forms of employee development exist in your organisation/organisations generally? Who is responsible for/involved in these? Are these activities effective? Why?

Q3. Management development What is the purpose of MD in your organisation/organisations generally? Who has management development? To what extent are the following effective for management development? Action learning Coaching and mentoring Projects and secondments Outdoor management development Q 4. E-learning What is the purpose of e-learning? To what extent is it used in your organisation/organisations generally? Why? What are the factors influencing e-learning? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

Q5. Please complete the learning style questionnaire on Blackboard.

Week 5

The changing employment relationship The employer-employee relationship, rights and responsibilities, the role of trade unions

Please read: Chapters 11, 12 and 14 (Beardwell & Claydon 2007) or similar chapters in other texts Q1. The employment relationship Explain the following dimensions of the employment relationship: Economic Political Legal Psychological Social Ethical/moral What are the differences between the formal employment contract and the psychological contract?

Q 2. Conflict Identify some sources of conflict in organisations? Is conflict a good thing? Why/why not?

Q3. Grievance and discipline What are the differences between grievance and discipline? What is the line managers role in grievance and discipline? What is HRs role? Have you ever been involved in a grievance or disciplinary? How was this resolved?

Q 4. Industrial democracy To what extent should employees be involved in an organisations decision-making? What is the role of trade unions in todays organisations? Is there still a need for trade unions? Why/why not?

Q5. Hotel case study Please read and complete the action plan for this case study, located on Blackboard under Resources.

Week 6

Managing and Rewarding Performance Reward and performance management, employee involvement and empowerment

Please read: Chapters 13 (Beardwell & Claydon 2007) or similar chapters in other texts Q1. Performance What is performance? What is the relationship between job motivation and performance? What internal and external factors influence individual and organisational performance?

Q2. Performance management What is the role of appraisal? How does it help measure, monitor and improve performance? Have you ever been appraised? What was your experience? How could you measure the performance of a professor, professional footballer, call centre operator and a manager?

Q3. Reward What motivates you to perform well at work? Do you think this is the same for everyone? Why/why not? What different ways can people be rewarded for their effort? What has motivated you do study for this Masters degree? Q4. People Management article Please read this article before this weeks lecture!